Dimapur, May 25 (MExN): The People’s Science Institute (PSI) Dehradun and Department of Land Resources (DoLR), Nagaland hosted an online experience sharing stakeholders’ consultation workshop on Springshed Management for the state of Nagaland May 25.
According to a report from the state DIPR, Anita Sharma from PSI chaired the online workshop and said that the main objective of the workshop was to emphasize on the experiences and challenges faced by various departments and agencies working on watershed management in Nagaland and to formulate strategies to address the challenges.
Awi Tsuhah from NIEDA shared her experiences on the impact and challenges from the 100 rural villages programme on spring revival and said that ground water in the form of springs, is the lifeline for drinking water security and livelihood in the Himalayan region including Nagaland.
She also said that the rejuvenation and sustainability of spring management is extremely critical as it supports the eco system, landscape and the ecological function by providing not just water but also livelihood security to the people and conserving biodiversity.
Also highlighting on the programme’s achievements, she said that the spring treatment intervention programme has been implemented in 104 villages and 303 springs have been inventorized in 100 villages across the State till date. She also stated that through community mobilization, social, hydro-geological and engineering survey have been completed in 100 villages and spring rejuvenation covering 104 springs in 94 villages were also implemented.
She further stated that such programmes have strengthened the local institutions mainly on water governance in a sustainable and equitable way. She also highlighted that the various challenges such as lack of technical knowhows, land conflict, etc., were faced by the department in the initial stages of implementing the programmes.
According to the DIPR report, there is increasing evidence that springs are drying up as reports suggest that more than three million perennial springs in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) states have either already dried up or become seasonal, resulting in acute water shortages across thousands of Himalayan villages. To address the above concerns, NITI Aayog has identified springshed management as a key thrust area of intervention for the region.
It said that PSI Dehradun since its establishment in 1988 has been pioneering work in the field of community-led watershed management, environmental quality monitoring, fluorosis mitigation, disaster-safe housing, the system of crop intensification, springs regeneration, participatory groundwater management, and river conservation. The Institute in the last decade has contributed to state-level programs on Springshed management in the states of Sikkim, Nagaland, and Meghalaya.
In 2016, the Department of Land Resources (DoLR), Govt. of Nagaland, and PSI piloted a state-level ‘Participatory Springshed Development Programme’ for 11 districts of Nagaland considering one spring in each of the districts. PSI as a supporting agency is giving capacity-building trainings to the state and district teams and catalyzes actions on the ground. With the success of the programme, another state-level program ‘Multi-Stakeholder Participatory Springshed Management Initiatives’ was initiated in Nagaland for 100 rural villages aiming revival of 100 springs, in 2018. Several government departments and civil society organizations have worked collectively on springs under this multi-faceted convergence programme, the DIPR report stated.
As per the report, presentations on evolution and experience of Springshed management in Nagaland from the stakeholder’s approach, Geo- hydrology based participatory Springshed management in Nagaland under NHMS, PSI and COS Experiences on Springshed management in Nagaland, and ongoing research on Springshed management were presented by various agencies and experts.
The key note address was delivered by Nagaland’s RD Secretary and PSI’s film on Springshed management in IHR was also shown. Eminent speakers and officials from RD, Land Resources, NABARD, National Science and Technology Council Kohima, NIT Nagaland etc., participated in the online workshop, the report stated.
